Portland Public Schools Advances with Property Purchase for Center for Black Student Excellence
After a lengthy period of planning and site evaluation, Portland Public Schools (PPS) is moving forward with the potential purchase of property for its Center for Black Student Excellence (CBSE). The Portland Public Schools Board approved a Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA) this week, initiating a 90-day due diligence period.The proposed site is a two-building, mixed-use office space known as One North, originally constructed in 2015 as a commercial development. Architects described the build as innovative at the time. The total cost of the property is $16 million, significantly less than the $60 million initially allocated for the center through a previous bond.
Over the next three months, district officials will assess the property for potential structural costs or necessary modifications to adapt the office space for educational use. Board Chair Eddie Wang emphasized the importance of a thorough review,stating,”We wont to make sure … there’s no hidden barriers or unforeseen issues that may require us to pull out of the contract. We don’t want to claim a win before a win happens.”
A final vote on the property purchase is scheduled for early December, with a closing date mandated by the seller of December 29.
Aryn Frazier, executive director of the Center for Black Excellence, a nonprofit supporting the PPS initiative, hailed the move as “long overdue,” and a demonstration of commitment to “student excellence, collaboration, and innovation.” She added that the CBSE is intended to address systemic inequities, aiming to create a district “in which race is not predictive of academic, social, or postsecondary outcomes.”
Wang described the potential acquisition as a ”win-win-win,” highlighting the property’s existing construction - avoiding further construction delays – its affordability,and its ultimate benefit to students. He also underscored the collaborative nature of the project, emphasizing the meaningful involvement of Portland’s Black community and local organizations, calling it “a novel approach” and noting its “one of the first times we allow our Black community to have the say in how to run things, and give them the power and the leadership to fulfill this vision.”
while acknowledging potential challenges during the project’s implementation, wang expressed confidence in its success, stating, “We’re all hear wanting to get this off the ground and making sure it’s prosperous.”
